A massive fire broke out at the Mancheswar Railway Wagon repair workshop in Bhubaneswar on Thursday night, destroying materials and equipment worth crores.
The fire spread rapidly from a passenger coach to nearby vegetation and stored materials. Stocks of timber, plywood, foam, mattress padding, and repair equipment caught fire. Flames quickly reached other sections of the workshop, leaving widespread destruction.
Investigators revealed that contract workers had been cutting a passenger coach around 8 pm. Sparks from welding reportedly remained inside the coach and ignited flammable materials. Officials suspect this triggered the blaze.
Local villagers alerted the Railway Protection Force after spotting the fire. Fire engines from Chandrasekharpur, Kalpana, and CRP Square rushed to the site. Five fire tenders worked together and controlled the flames after nearly one hour.
Authorities confirmed that scrap materials worth crores, along with new raw materials and equipment, were destroyed. The Railway Protection Force has launched an investigation to determine the exact cause and assess the extent of damage.
